US companies to suffer from bans on Russia: Putin

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The U.S. measures of economic pressure on Russia, like, for example, banning Exxon Mobil work in the Arctic are harmful for the U.S. economy, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told reporters after the APEC summit on Saturday.

"They have not allowed ExxonMobil work in our Arctic, simply have deprived it of an interesting and promising job, which could add to the US economic might, which could offer new jobs in the U.S., new revenues, tax payments and so forth. This is only one example, and the [limitations in the] financial sector and in others - there are many other examples," the president said. "Your place would be taken by competitors, this is unavoidable in the modern world."

"Most foreign companies at the recent Petersburg [International Economic] Forum were from the U.S.," he continued. "Everyone wants to work in Russia."

"And Russia also wants to have harmony relations with the U.S. not only in the economy, but also in the security," he added.

Earlier, due to the anti-Russian sanctions, ExxonMobil curbed nine of its ten joint projects with Rosneft on the Black Sea shelf, in the Arctic and in West Siberia. The company estimates losses at up to one billion dollars.

The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, which was initiated by Kiev after it deployed forces to crack down on pro-democracy autonomy-seekers in the Russian-speaking region, has left more than 10,000 people dead.

The US has also imposed a series of sanctions against Russia as punishment over Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The US intelligence community believes Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a cyber campaign to help US President Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential race and defeat his main rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump has repeatedly rejected such reports and has expressed support for improving relations with Moscow.